The Dallas Stars have decided who will join Ken Hitchcock behind the bench next season, hiring assistant coaches Rick Wilson and Stu Barnes. Curt Fraser will be a holdover from the previous staff. Hitchcock, hired after Lindy Ruff was let go at the end of the season will try and turn around what was an extremely disappointing club last year.
Wilson, 66, was around with Hitchcock during his first stint as head coach of the Stars, and is a life-long assistant in the NHL. He was first hired into the league in 1988 by the New York Islanders, and has been behind benches coaching defensemen ever since. His familiarity with Hitchcock and his systems will come in handy as the team looks to revamp the Stars play style.
Barnes on the other hand is still fairly green in terms of NHL coaching experience, only spending two years behind the bench under Marc Crawford during his Dallas stint. Barnes is a co-owner of the Tri-City Americans of the WHL (along with Olaf Kolzig) and has coached US prep academies. Just 46, Barnes is ten years removed from a playing career that took him all over the NHL. Suiting up for 1,136 games and registering 597 points, he made the transition from highly-touted young scoring threat to grizzled checking center quite smoothly.